Choosing The Best Portable Gas Grill
There’s nothing like firing up the grill and cooking for friends and family. Having a bunch of people in the kitchen when you’re trying to throw something in the oven is stressful, but having a bunch of people standing around the grill feels right; brings a sense of community. And as much fun as it is to have backyard barbecues, why limit yourself to your home? Portable gas grills are a great way to take the fun of a cookout to meet your friends. Maybe that means camping. Maybe it means tailgating. Whatever it means for you, finding a grill that suits your needs is an important part of the process.
WHAT ARE YOUR PORTABLE GAS GRILL NEEDS?
There are plenty of considerations that go into picking a grill. The first is “What are you using this for?” Maybe you go car camping a lot. Maybe you’re a big tailgater. Maybe you want to grill on a balcony or your yard, but don’t have room for a full-sized grill. There are plenty of other questions that will affect the size, weight, and cost of the grills you consider. Many of them are related to the first, but they’re all worth thinking about. Here are a few:
- How many people do you usually cook for? Is it just one or two, or is a party’s worth of people?
- What kinds of foods do you like to grill, and how much space do they need on the grill?
- How often are you going to use it?
- How portable does it need to be?
- Are you just grilling, or do you want some flexibility?
FEATURES TO LOOK FOR WHEN RESEARCHING THE BEST PORTABLE GAS GRILL FOR YOU
While everyone’s priorities are different, there are a few things that are always worth considering when shopping for a gas grill. Here are a few factors to think about, at least enough to determine what matters most to you, and what doesn’t.
BTUS
“BTU” is short for “British Thermal Unit,” and it describes the heat output of the grill. This number may describe each burner, or the total output for all burners. Make sure when you see a BTU number that you understand which one it’s talking about. You don’t want to buy a grill thinking it’s extra hot, then learn that it has two burners with only half the BTUs you thought. The ratio of BTUs to surface area is more helpful to consider than BTUs by themselves. Take the BTUs and divide them by the square inches of the grill surface. Conventional wisdom says that you want 80-100 BTUs/sq. In., but many popular grills do just fine with only 70 BTUs/sq. in.
CONSTRUCTION QUALITY
You want to make sure that the grill is made of strong stuff. Thin materials won’t hold heat as well as a solidly-constructed burner. That means that all those BTUs will go to waste, burning up lots of fuel as they do so. Plus, it won’t last as long before you’ll be back to researching a replacement grill again.
FUEL TYPE
If you’re seeking out an article specifically about gas grills, you may have already made your mind up about fuel type. But just in case, here are some ups and downs about fuels.
Charcoal
Charcoal gives meat a unique, smoky flavor, and stays warm long after cooking. However, for a portable grill, it can generate a lot of smoke and leave behind a lot of ash. It’s also a little too bulky to easily cart around in a lot of situations.
Gas
Portable gas grills usually use small tanks of propane to generate heat. While you don’t get the same flavor as charcoal, you do get a lot of convenience. Within the world of gas grills, there’s debate about which gas is best. Propane, butane, and other unique mixes and proprietary fuels all provide an array of options. Whatever gas you use, gas grills generally don’t leave waste behind the way charcoal ash does, and if you have to cook in a covered area, it’s typically a safer, better bet.
Electric
An electric grill is a great kitchen convenience that doesn’t require you to buy more charcoal or fuel. But it’s only useful when there’s an outlet around. If you were really devoted, you could probably figure a way to power an electric grill away from home, but odds are that’s a lot more effort than it’s worth.
FUEL CANISTERS
What kind of fuel canister do you want to use? Can it be refilled? Can it be recycled? How efficient is it? There’s a lot to weigh when thinking about a fuel source.
EXPANDABILITY
Like Jetboil’s Basecamp systems, the Gonzo Grill and the Ignite and Ignite Plus Camp Stoves can be linked together with Jetlink cables. This lets you cook for a large group of people using just one source of gas. If you’re looking for a more elaborate kitchen setup, that’s something to think about.
BURNERS
How many burners does it have, and how many do you need? If it’s a multi-burner grill, can you turn each burner on and off individually? Or are you always burning enough fuel to power multiple grills?
COOKING AREA
How much space do those grills take up? This is going to affect how much you can cook at once, and may even affect the kinds of things that you can cook. Hot dogs don’t take up much space. Trying to make beer can chicken takes up plenty.
SIMMER CONTROL
BTUs are all well and good, but how much control do you have over them? If “on” and “off” are the only heat control options you have, you’re going to have a tricky time getting the job done. Eureka! grills give you plenty of control. The SPRK Camp Grill’s simmer control is so sensitive that you can even use it to gently toast the buns for your burgers. The Ignite grills give you two turns of the knob, while the Gonzo Grill has four full turns of adjustability. All of these options give you a wide range of control over your heat, from a light simmer to a roaring fire.
FLEXIBILITY
Are you just going to be grilling, or do you want more? The Gonzo Grill, for example, includes a griddle surface that you can use to make pancakes (and a low enough simmer setting that you won’t burn them). You can also take the grill off altogether and use the burner as a stove.
PORTABILITY
A quick look around will show you that people have wildly differing ideas of what “portable” means. Just because something can be carried from one place to another doesn’t mean that it’s easy to do so. Portability doesn’t just mean weight. It also means things like size and shape that affect how easy it is to take it where you’re going. The SPRK Camp Grill is 16.6 inches long and weighs 8 pounds, 8 ounces. The carrying case makes it easily portable, and when you’re cooking, the butane fuel sits inside of the grill’s fuel compartment. That lets you set up to cook in smaller spices than you would otherwise need. The Ignite Camp Stove is only 18.5 inches long and weighs 10 pounds. The Ignite Plus is larger, but still just 23 inches long and 12 pounds. And for all its flexibility, the Gonzo Grill still only weighs 14 pounds, 3 ounces. Its rounder shape may be a little harder to tuck under your arm, but its dimensions are still compact (13.8x11 inches). Also, the handles at the base give you something easy to grab onto, even when the grill is hot. (Just be careful!)
The SPRK Camp Grill is 16.6 inches long and weighs 8 pounds, 8 ounces. The carrying case makes it easily portable, and when you’re cooking, the butane fuel sits inside of the grill’s fuel compartment. That lets you set up to cook in smaller spices than you would otherwise need.
The Ignite Camp Stove is only 18.5 inches long and weighs 10 pounds. The Ignite Plus is larger, but still just 23 inches long and 12 pounds. And for all its flexibility, the Gonzo Grill still only weighs 14 pounds, 3 ounces. Its rounder shape may be a little harder to tuck under your arm, but its dimensions are still compact (13.8x11 inches). Also, the handles at the base give you something easy to grab onto, even when the grill is hot. (Just be careful!)
BEST TABLETOP GAS GRILL
Not to be too braggadocious, but we think the best tabletop gas grill for butane users is the SPRK Camp Grill. The compact size and carrying case make it easy to take anywhere you want to go. Setup is a breeze. Since you don’t have to set up a bulky fuel canister, you don’t need a ton of space. And the SPRK’s adjustable feet mean that you don’t have to set the grill on a level surface to start cooking, either. The grill surface can fit 6 burgers at once on the grate, and the simmer control is so adjustable that you can toast the buns, as well. The cooking surface gives you great heat distribution. And when you’re done cooking, the ceramic grate is easy to clean off and the removable drip tray can be cleaned in the dishwasher.
If you prefer propane, we recommend the Gonzo Grill. It's one of the most compact grills around at its level of performance. And its unique versatility sets it apart. Small enough and light enough for every tailgating and car camping scenario, it’s also flexible enough to cook anything you need. If you need to do more than grill, you’ve also got a griddle and a stovetop. And if you need to do a lot more than grill, you’ve got Jetlink ports that let you hook up other Eureka! and Jetboil cooking gear to one power source. And of course, it’s powerful, with its burner putting out 6,000 BTUs into a setup that’s high-quality enough that that heat actually gets put to use..
PORTABLE BARBECUES TO THE RESCUE!
Whether you want to make a gourmet three-course meal for your whole campsite, or just to grill up some hot dogs for a couple of friends at a tailgate, there’s a portable gas grill out there for you.
Thinking through what’s important to you in a gas grill can help you make a decision that you’re happy with for years to come. And of course, if you need any help putting ideas together once you have your grill, you can always check out our camping recipes.